About

About the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT)

The Center for Victims of Torture is an international humanitarian and human rights organization with offices in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, United States and additional project sites around the world. CVT’s mission is to heal the wounds of torture on individuals, their families and their communities and to end torture worldwide. To achieve this, CVT focuses on extending interdisciplinary care to survivors, building the resilience and capacity of partner healing and human rights organizations, engaging in policy advocacy in support of refugees and to end use of torture, and using monitoring, evaluation and applied research to ensure interventions are effective and evidence informed.

In 2016, CVT was given full custody of the ProQOL tools and website from Dr. Beth Hudnall Stamm. The ProQOL was originally developed by Dr. Stamm, building off of work by and collaboration with Charles Figley; CVT is grateful to them and to other contributors to the ProQOL over the years, including CVT’s former Director of Evaluation and Research Dr. Craig Higson-Smith.

The wellbeing of caregivers, healers, defenders, teachers and helpers of all kinds is critical in the work to end human rights abuses, including torture. The CVT team is proud to offer the ProQOL tools in support of efforts to make the world a better place for everyone.

Recognition of ProQOL Contributors 

• Dr. Henry E. Stamm, PhD, Whitefish, Montana, USA
• Craig Higson-Smith, PhD, Johannesburg, South Africa
• Amy C. Hudnall, MA, Boone, North Carolina, USA,
• Neill F. Piland, DrPH, Pocatello, Idaho, USA  
• Dr Beth Hudnall Stamm, PhD, retired  

Henry E. Stamm, IV, PhD 

Is the Owner of Eastwoods, formerly the official owner of the ProQOL. He is a retired  history professor. He held posts at Idaho State University, Dartmouth  College, University of Alaska Anchorage and SUNY--Oswego. He holds the  Ph.D. from the University of Wyoming, an M.A. from Appalachian State  University and a B.A. from Rice University.  He is the author of People  of the Wind River:  The Eastern Shoshones, 1825-1900 (University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), as well as several articles and a website on Shoshone art hosted by the Wind River Historical Center of Dubois,  Wyoming. He is continuing his research on the people of the Wind River  with additional research on the Shoshone & Bannock people of Fort  Hall. In addition to working on a sequel to his first book, another  current project focuses on viewing cultural transformation of the Eastern Shoshones through the lenses of their material culture and art.  Past presentations and publications have emphasized the historical  context of understanding cultural and generational trauma among  indigenous peoples. 

Beth Hudnall Stamm, PhD

Was the developer of the ProQOL and served as the  director of ProQOL.org until her retirement in  2012. Beth holds degrees  from Appalachian State University (BS, MA) and University of Wyoming  (Ph.D.). She is a retired professor and researcher in the field of  traumatic stress. Before retirement, she held positions at Idaho State  University, the VA National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder  and Dartmouth Medical School as well as at the University of  Alaska  Anchorage and SUNY-Oswego. She was recognized by the International  Society for Traumatic Stress Studies for “fundamental  contributions to  the international public understanding of trauma.” and by the American  Psychological Association as one of the “outstanding  psychologists of  this generation.” Beth was a contributor to the  development of the U.S. Army Medical Department “Provider Resiliency  Training” program which uses the ProQOL as a major component of the  program. She specializes in  traumatic stress, cultural trauma, and  secondary traumatic stress. Her work is used in over 30 countries and diverse fields including health care, bioterrorism and disaster responding, news media, and the military   

Craig Higson-Smith, PhD

Has a PhD in Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand and a Masters Degree in Research Psychology from the University of  Natal. He was formerly the Research Director of the Center for Victims of  Torture. He has worked in the fields of violence prevention, peace-making and trauma care for more than twenty years. During this time he was a founder and director of the Sinani Programme for Survivors of Violence in KwaZulu-Natal, a founder member and regular trainer for the South African Institute for Traumatic Stress (SAITS),  and the chairperson of the South African Network of Trauma Service Providers: Themba Lesizwe. In addition to regular presentations  at  international conferences, Higson-Smith has written or edited several  books, book chapters and academic articles in the field of traumatic  stress, and provided technical and organizational support to  torture prevention and rehabilitation programmes in South Africa,  Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Sudan, and  Cambodia. His particular professional interests lie in cultural  trauma,  community intervention, and torture prevention and rehabilitation.   

Amy C. Hudnall, MA

Is a Lecturer in the History and Women's Studies Departments at  Appalachian State University. She teaches courses on peace and  conflict. She has presented and published on captivity trauma, human  rights,  secondary trauma, cultural relativism, and cross-cultural  conflict. She received her M.A. in history at Appalachian State  University and also studied at the Bayerische  Julius-Maximilian-Universität in Germany. She was the president of Horse  Helpers, Inc., a regional equine rescue.   

Neill F. Piland, DrPH

Is Emeritus Research Professor and Director of the Idaho State University  Institute of Rural Health. Formerly, he was Director of  the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) Center for Research an  Director of New Mexico’s Lovelace Institute for Health and Population Research. A Health Economist and Health Services  Researcher, he received his Doctorate in Health Services Administration  from UCLA and  also holds Masters Degrees in Public Health and in Economics from UCLA  and UC Davis respectively. He has been Principal Investigator for more  than thirty major research projects including  evaluation of the quality of care in Arizona’s Medicaid managed care experiment (AHCCCS); the Community Intervention Trial for Smoking Cessation (COMMIT) site:  and the Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program (IBAPP). He has authored or  coauthored more than  ninety articles, four books and numerous book  chapters on health care  delivery, health promotion and health care financing.